UK Hosepipe Ban Status 2026 - Is My Area Affected?

UK temperatures peaked at 37.3°C at Santon Downham in Suffolk on 26 June 2026, the highest June temperature on record (Met Office). The previous June record (35.6°C, set on 28 June 1976 and 29 June 1957) was broken on three consecutive days during the heatwave. The Met Office issued Amber heat-health alerts across England, and hundreds of schools closed at the height of the warning period. Water demand has risen sharply across affected regions (Thames Water reported an approximate 50 percent rise; South East Water's Kent network reached near-record peak demand), which is the immediate driver of the company-level TUBs declared in late June and early July.

How the 2026 situation developed:

• Spring 2025 was the driest spring in 132 years (since 1893), and summer 2025 was the hottest on record since 1884. These conditions left several regions with a rainfall deficit going into winter.
• Fourteen water companies were in "drought" or "prolonged dry weather" status during 2025.
• Winter 2025-26 recharge improved the national picture: by spring 2026 most reservoirs had partially recovered. The Environment Agency's 18 to 26 June 2026 weekly report puts national reservoir storage at approximately 87.5 percent for England (week ending 23 June), at the long-term average for the time of year. The picture is not a national crisis; it is acute in specific regions. See our UK reservoir levels page for the regional divergence.
• Despite the moderate national picture, individual companies in the most-affected supply areas (notably Anglian Water, Southern Water, South East Water and Cambridge Water) have reached their own drought management plan triggers and declared Temporary Use Bans. TUBs are company-level and supply-area decisions, not national-reservoir decisions, which is why some regions face bans while national storage looks near-normal.

What this means for lawn owners: in regions with an active TUB, the restriction is real and enforceable. Southern Water customers face £1,000 maximum fines for non-compliance. In regions without one, voluntary restraint still helps. Either way, switching from hosepipe to watering can extends the window before more areas face bans.

Reservoir levels vary sharply by region. As of the Environment Agency's 18 to 26 June 2026 weekly report, national storage is approximately 87.5 percent for England (week ending 23 June), at the long-term average for the time of year. The national picture is not a historic crisis. The regional picture is more divergent: the report names Blagdon, Wimbleball and the Dove Group as notably low, records below-normal levels in the faster-responding chalk aquifers across Yorkshire and Wessex, and southern and south-eastern sources are stressed enough to drive company-level TUBs. Anglian Water reports rivers across the East of England at notably or exceptionally low levels after the second driest spring on record. For current regional reservoir figures and the framing around the "lowest in a decade" press narrative, see our UK reservoir levels guide.

National reservoir storage and company-level TUB declarations are not the same thing. TUBs are declared from each water company's own drought management plan, which uses company-specific triggers based on local storage, raw water availability, demand patterns, and contingency margin. South East Water has explicitly stated its Kent TUB is to manage distribution-network demand pressure during the heatwave, not a reservoir crisis. Cambridge Water supplies an almost entirely groundwater-fed region with no impounding reservoirs at all, so its ban turns on aquifer recharge and chalk stream flows rather than reservoir storage. All of this can be true while England's overall reservoir storage sits at the long-term average. The reservoir guide explains this distinction in detail.

The official name for a UK hosepipe ban is a Temporary Use Ban (TUB), declared under Section 76 of the Water Industry Act 1991. Only water companies can declare a TUB, not councils, not the national government, not Ofwat. The declaration must be advertised in two local newspapers circulating in the affected area, and the company's website must carry the notice.

What a TUB bans:

• Watering gardens or plants with a hosepipe
• Filling or topping up paddling pools, hot tubs, and ornamental ponds
• Washing cars, buildings, patios, or decking with a hosepipe
• Cleaning windows with a hosepipe (except for commercial window-cleaning businesses in most cases)
• Filling or topping up swimming pools (with some exceptions for competition pools)

What stays allowed during a TUB:

• Watering plants with a bucket or watering can (always permitted)
• Hosepipe use for direct commercial purposes (e.g., washing a commercial vehicle)
• Customers on the Priority Services Register with medical equipment needs
• Drip irrigation and soaker hoses for garden plants (varies by company)

The maximum fine for breaching a TUB is £1,000 per violation. Water companies can also apply to the Secretary of State for a drought order, which enables stricter penalties and broader restrictions (including limits on commercial water use).

Summer 2026 has produced eight formal Temporary Use Bans and one voluntary advisory:

Formal Temporary Use Bans:

• Southern Water (Hampshire + Isle of Wight only (NOT Sussex)): Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in force since 10 July 2026. Approximately 4.6 million; about 1 million affected by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight TUB. £1,000 maximum per violation.
• South East Water (Whole supply area (Kent now; rest from 25 July)): Kent in force since 3 July 2026; Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire in force from 25 July 2026. Approximately 2.3 million customers in total. The Kent TUB covers about 850,000; South East Water publishes no population figure for the extension (The Independent reports around two million more) affected. £1,000 maximum per violation.
• Thames Water (London + Thames Valley): The Thames Water drinking-water supply area (London, the Thames Valley and the home counties) in force since 23 July 2026. The ban covers the roughly 10.1 million customers Thames Water supplies with drinking water. This is not Thames Water's larger figure of around 16 million, which includes customers it serves for wastewater only; those customers are not affected by the ban. £1,000 maximum per violation.
• Anglian Water (East of England, except Hartlepool): East of England (except Hartlepool) in force since 10 July 2026. More than 5 million water-supply customers affected. £1,000 maximum per violation.
• Cambridge Water (Cambridge Water region (NOT South Staffs)): Cambridge region in force since 9 July 2026. Approximately 350,000 households (about 351,000 customers) affected. £1,000 maximum per violation.
• Affinity Water (Central region (Herts, Beds, Bucks, Berks, Surrey, parts of Essex and London)): Central region in force since 17 July 2026. Approximately 3.9 million people affected. £1,000 maximum per violation.
• South West Water (parts of Mid and East Devon): Named areas of Mid and East Devon in force since 14 July 2026. South West Water has not published the number of customers covered by this ban, and we will not estimate one. The restriction is defined by the named areas, not by a headcount. £1,000 maximum per violation.
• Welsh Water (Dŵr Cymru) (parts of west Wales): Mid and south Ceredigion, north Pembrokeshire and north Carmarthenshire in force since 19 July 2026. Welsh Water says the ban covers around 33,000 properties in a single water supply zone. That is the company's own figure for the restricted area, not its customer base, which is around 3 million people across Wales. £1,000 maximum per violation.

Two of these bans distinguish the date restrictions come into place from the date they become legally enforceable, and we publish both rather than flattening them. Anglian Water's ban was in place from 10 July and enforceable from 01:01 on 11 July. Cambridge Water's was in place from 9 July and enforceable from 01:00 on 17 July. Cambridge Water is part of the South Staffs Water group but supplies a separate region; the South Staffs area is not under a ban.

Advisory (urging restraint, no formal TUB):

No ban in force:

Yorkshire Water (Yorkshire region), Severn Trent (Midlands), United Utilities (North West), Wessex Water (South West (inland)), Northumbrian Water (North East + Essex & Suffolk), Scottish Water (Scotland (separate regime)).

Yorkshire Water belongs in that last group, despite widespread reports of an 11 July 2026 ban. Yorkshire Water's own status page says no restrictions are in place and that its water resources are healthier than a year ago, and the Environment Agency's 18 to 26 June 2026 report records that the company has no dry weather concerns. The 11 July date is from the 2025 ban, which ran from Friday 11 July 2025 and was lifted on 10 December 2025. In 2026, 11 July falls on a Saturday.

UK lawn grasses are primarily cool-season species: Perennial Ryegrass, Fescue blends, and Bent grass. Each has different drought tolerance and different survival strategies under a TUB:

• Perennial Ryegrass: the most common UK lawn grass. Goes semi-dormant in summer drought; crowns survive even with full browning. Water with cans before 9am during a TUB if you want to keep it green. Allow some browning, the lawn will recover fully with autumn rain.
• Fescue blends (Red Fescue, Chewings, Hard Fescue): more drought-tolerant than Ryegrass thanks to deeper roots. Half an inch (12 mm) every 14 days keeps Fescue alive during a TUB, delivered by watering can.
• Bent grass (Agrostis): the grass used on cricket squares, bowling greens, and premium sports surfaces. Most vulnerable to drought of the common UK grasses. Keeping Bent grass alive through a TUB is effectively impossible for amateurs; accept the loss and reseed in autumn.

Universal UK lawn tips during a TUB: raise the mower to 50 to 60 mm; stop feeding entirely; water deeply but rarely (rather than little and often); buckets and watering cans are always allowed and should be used in the early morning (before 9am) for maximum water efficiency.

For US-focused techniques that apply equally to UK lawns, see our guide on keeping a lawn alive through water restrictions. For the UK-specific version, see the dedicated keep your UK lawn alive during a hosepipe ban guide.